What Pope Benedict Knew About Father Maciel

Embedded below is the lead segment from last night's broadcast, a report from chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross that looks at the role Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, may have played in the sex abuse scandal involving Father Marcial Maciel and a potential power struggle inside the Vatican. Featured in our report is investigative journalist Jason Berry, who broke the story about Father Maciel's molestation more than a decade ago. Maciel, who died in 2008, was the founder of a powerful worldwide Catholic order known as the Legion of Christ. He was considered a favorite of former Pope John Paul II — the two are pictured above. Also included is a 2002 moment when the future Pope became upset when asked about the Maciel case by Ross. You can see the interaction at roughly the 3:45 mark. Click HERE for our "Closing Argument" from last week, in which we asked the question, "Should Pope Benedict Resign the Papacy?" Commenting on the site was down at the time, and it deserves revisiting. And here is the set-up, straight from the script: (CYNTHIA:) We begin tonight with the renewed controversy facing the Catholic church. No Pope has reisnged his position since the 15th century. But if some critics had their way, that's exactly what Pope Benedic would do. Holy Week for him has been one of defending the Vatican — and himself — against allegations that he knew about, and failed to act on, sexual abuse by priests years ago. In one major scandal, his role may have been far more complicated than that.